This year's roundup is not so much a best and worst of--though I do have a few superlatives to bestow--but a chance to connect the dots, note unusual installations, make a few observations, and (finally) wrap the whole thing up for another year.

Got a Match?﻿

You know the saying, There's a lid for every pot? It's used mostly by dating services and matchmakers, but what's to keep us from doing a little art yenta-ing of our own?

Above and below:

Balzer Art Projects, Basel, at Pulse: Nici Jost site-specific work on the Pulse grounds and in the gallery booth

Newt and Calista (more commonly known as the "Tiffany Twosome"). OK, I'm cheating here. They weren't in Miami and Newt doesn't normally wear this much makeup

Photo via Facebook

. . .

Wigging Out

Sometimes it's the fairgoer who just happens to walk by an installation of hairpieces, thus becoming part of that installation if only for a moment. And sometimes it's a Nick Cave Soundsuit that appears to channel Cousin Itt. But sometimes, well, you just thank the Universe for compelling you to surf through People of Walmart when you're supposed to be working on a Miami Roundup post.

Above: Standard, Oslo, ABMB: Nina Beier

Below: Mary Boone Gallery, New York, ABMB: Nick Cave

Below: A person of interest at People of Walmart. Though this is not what's normally meant by hair extensions, PoW's caption writer called this look "weavetastic," which merits a shoutout of its own

. . .

One Size Fits All﻿

Speaking of extensions, the award in the Stretchable or Expandable category goes to an artist who fills out a sweater better than a porn star with implants.Well, if the implants were made of lumber and protruded from all over her torso.

Lehman Maupin Gallery, New York, ABMB: Erwin Wurm

. . .

Manorexia

Here we see the unnatural thinness of the women's models combined with the off-to-the-foxhunt jauntiness of the menwear line. You think this picture has something to do with Ralph Lauren, too, don't you?

Sorry We're Closed, Brussels, NADA; artist unknown

. . .

I Can Get These for Less on Canal Street

Well the logo bags, for sure. I don't know about the paintings. But if these aren't available, there are some sunsets on velvet that you can pick up for a song.

.

At Rudolf Budja Gallery, Miami Beach, Art Miami: Zevs. . .

Toward the End, It was Just Mini Coopers and Smart Cars

At least that's how it seems.

﻿

At Karsten Greve Ag, St. Moritz, ABMB: John Chamberlain

. . .

If Your Erection Lasts Longer Than 35 Years . . . . . get to a museum immediately.

You've Got Male
Without John Currin and Lisa Yuskavage to serve up their creepy images of big-bosomed naked women, the objects of our attention this year were just about all male.

At Stephen Friedman Gallery, London, ABMB: Jennifer Rubell sculpture of Prince William, left, and a gallery representative. Note the naturalistic pose and coloring of the figure at right, which features a seemingly spontaneous turn of the head and facial expression

Van de Weghe Fine Art, ABMB: Duane Hanson, High School Student, 1990/92, bronze polychromed in oil, approximately life size

Barbie has had dozens careers, including Canadian Mountie, Paleontologist, Presidential Candidate, and Artist. But this may be the first time that she's had her own booth at an international art fair.

At Regina Gallery, London and Moscow, ABMB: Jonathan Meese. The title of this installation is Schaukel Die Versachlichte Fuhrung Kunst Ins Erzland (Kunst Jenseits)--minus the umlauts, which I don't have on my keyboard. According to my German-speaking friends on Facebook, it translates into something like Rocking the Art of Objectivity into a Law-Free Country.

(No word on how to say "spam cozy" in German, though.)

If I had to guess, these would be Pole Dancer Barbie, above, and Boner Barbie, below. I must say that these are some of the best uses to which the anatomically unstable doll has ever been put

. . .

Most Seductive Images of a Carcinogenic Substance
I'm one of those annoying former smokers ﻿who thinks no one should light up within 100 feet of another human being (especially me), but I find these images sexy beyond all logic.

Pae White castle-size tapestries

Above: Kaufmann Repetto, Milan, ABMB

Below: Neugerreimschneider, Berlin, ABMB

. . .

I Don't Care if They're Not Art, I Love Them

I think Lucio Fontana would have agreed with me about the top one. And the bottom one is surely the graffiti grandchild of Joan Mitchell and Frank Stella.

Fence tarps in Wynwood

. . .

Does This Installation Make My Butt Look Too Big?

If there's one thing worse than spending time in an installation looking at yourself in the mirror, it's taking pictures of yourself and then asking people to tell you, "Oh, no, you look fabulous."

Sies + Hoke Galerie, Dusseldorf, ABMB: The Art Kabinett installation by Claudie Wieser. (You can figure out who the blogger in the mirror is)

. . ..

The End

Over and out. Sayonara. Adios. Ciao. Until next year. Maybe.

At the Rubell Family Collection, Miami: Joel Kyack, installation

Last year for the Art or Trash post I got an indignant comment (anonymous, of course) that said in part, "You and your following of Art Moms probably enjoy this sort of conservative "debate" ...but really only a complete idiot would suggest Cady Noland's work might be confused with artless trash. Congratulations on involving the Internet in your personal insecurity and lack of intellectual curiosity."

Well, Anon, I hope you have enjoyed this year's installment of my "personal insecurity" just as much. Noland's beer-can installation is in it again this year, because it's still up at Rubell and it just went so well with pop-top cardigan. That bud's for you. And for the record, I have no children.

That I know of.

Big thanks to everyone who sent me to Miami. I am most appreciative of your help. To all my other friends reading this: If you enjoyed my coverage of the Miami art fairs, or the blog at any other time of year, please consider making a one-time annual donation of $20 (though any amount is welcome) to help support my effort. See the Donate button on the sidebar. Thank you.

3 comments:

Fabulous, funny ending to your wonderful fair posts! Speaking as an "Art Mom" with no children who is one of your legion of Art Mom readers, your myopic, biased and "idiotic" reports are not only journalistically suspect but the most complete, thorough, humorous and truthful of any journalism I have seen. As always, Barbie and beer rule; they are at the top of my list for artful subjects, but I'm considering going with the weaves as a subtext.

Thank you so much, Joanne, for your devoted efforts on behalf of your fanatical public.

Ditto much of what Nancy said.You have a keen eye and sharp wit (which of course, is why we delight in your posts). You bring us the glorious, the bombastic, along with the underwhelming. Joanne, thanks once again for this terrific romp through the Miami fairs.

PROJECTS

Just published!

“Silk Road: Excerpts From an Ongoing Series” has been published to mark 10 years of my involvement with one series, whose aesthetic I describe as “lush minimalism.” You can view the 56-page book in its entirety online at no charge. Click pic to view. The book is also available for purchase

Through April 4

"Territory of Abstraction," a 12-artist show at Pentimenti Gallery, Philadelphia, reflects a reductivist approach to geometry, color and pattern. Click pic for a walk-through of the show. Above: work by Gabriele Evertz, Debra Ramsay, and me. Additonal info: www.pentimenti.com

Through May 31

"Formal Aspects: Visual Dialogue in Structure" is a six-artist exhibition at the Cape Cod Museum of Art, up now. Curated by artist Sarah Hinckley, it includes Erica H. Adams, Emily Berger, Joanne Freeman, Hinckley, Mira Schor and myself. Click pic for the exhibition blog, which contains info about the show and each artist, as well as installation shots and links to the museum. Above, an installation of my work with Hinckley's painting in the foreground

James Panero Reviews Doppler Shift

Writing in The New Criterion, Panero calls Doppler Shift "a smart group show, " noting the work of "artists who interest me most these days." There's a nice shout out to Mary Birmingham, the curator; to Mel Prest, who originated the concept; and to me, among others. Click pic for the review

Up now at Adler & Co. Gallery

An ever-changing installation of paintings from my "Silk Road" series is up now at Adler & Co. Gallery, 77 Geary Street, San Francisco

For a Walk-Through of Summer Invitational . . .

.

If you enjoyed my Miami reporting, Fair and Loathing, please consider supporting this blog with a donation of $20 (more, less as you can afford). This huge job, which brings a good chunk of (expensive) Miami to you, takes almost a month out of my studio practice. A Pay Pal link is below. Many thanks.

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In the Studio

After a few false starts with the title, this series of 25 graphite-on-paper drawing is officially "Diamond Lattice." This is is #22, 2012, with micaceous pigment and cold wax, 30 x 22 inches. Click pic to see more work from the series

Recent: Buddy of Work

Henry Samelson asks artists to show two images: their primary work and a peripheral or related project. The connections are interesting. My own "buddies" are posted now. Click pic to link

"Textility," curated by Mary Birmingham and myself for the Visual Art Center of New Jersey, Summit (where Birmingham is the chief curator), looked at contemporary painting, sculpture and work on paper in which textile elements were referenced or employed. The exhibition is over, but you can see this exhibition on line. Click on the links below to read and see more.

Boston Globe Style Watch

November 13, 2011: Four of my small paintings are in this Cambridge apartment, which was the subject of a Style Watch feature. Click the pic to enlarge the image and read the story. Thanks to Arden Gallery, Boston, for representing me in Massachusetts (and beyond)

All texts and photography are by me unless otherwise noted. If you wish to excerpt a small portion of a post, you are free to do so under the Creative Commonsnon-commercial copyright--i.e. you must credit me as the author/photographer, and you must provide a link to my blog. Thanks.

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About Me

THE FIRST CONTEMPORARY BOOK ON ENCAUSTIC PAINTING. AND STILL THE BEST

My book, The Art of Encaustic Painting, was published by Watson-Guptill in 2001. It's the first commercially published book on contemporary encaustic. There are three sections: history, with images of the famed Greco-Egyptian Fayum portraits; a gallery of contemporary painting and sculpture (including the work of Jasper Johns, Kay WalkingStick, Heather Hutchison, Johannes Girardoni and myself), and technical information, including an interview with Michael Duffy, a conservator at the Museum of Modern Art.